LITTLE ROCK — The company that provides medical care to Arkansas prison inmates has agreed to pay $1,350 to a convicted murderer who said he waited years to be prescribed glasses, have a mole removed and have an operation on his shoulder.
Kelvin Collier, a 32-year-old convicted murderer serving time in the Arkansas Department of Correction's Wrightsville Unit, sued Correctional Medical Services Inc. of St. Louis, along with the Correction Department, in 2006, saying his medical needs had been neglected.
In May, U.S. Magistrate Judge H. David Young recommended dismissal of Collier's claims about delays in receiving glasses and having a mole removed, saying Collier had not shown that he had suffered any harm while waiting for treatment. But Young said a factual dispute existed about whether employees with the company had been slow in treating a shoulder injury Collier received in 2003.
Attorneys for Correctional Medical Services said in a court filing that doctors had offered different opinions on Collier's injury.
He was prescribed exercise and pain medication and was given work restrictions before finally receiving an operation to repair a torn rotator cuff in 2008.
The settlement agreement, dated Aug. 6, says the $1,350 payment is being made "for the purpose of avoiding further litigation and is not an admission of or acknowledgment of any wrongdoing." Collier and Correctional Medical Services filed a court document the same day asking for the suit to be dismissed.
Ken Fields, a spokesman for Correctional Medical Services, said his company occasionally settles lawsuits to "avoid ongoing costly litigation."
He added, "Every day, CMS professionals are effectively meeting the needs of thousands of inmate patients in the state of Arkansas."
Correction Department spokesman Dina Tyler said the money could be deposited in Collier's account, allowing him to buy items at the prison commissary.
Collier could also choose to give the money to someone outside the prison, she said.
Arkansas, Pages 11 on 08/25/2009